A poll taken by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) shows incumbent Governor Mike Pence virtually tied with Democrat John Gregg, if the election were held today; something the group says is a direct result of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) controversy.
According to the pro-LGBT rights organization, Pence and Gregg are tied at 47-47. HRC’s April poll also had Pence’s personal approval rating essentially tied at 39 percent favorable to 38 percent unfavorable. Separately, 53 percent of voters said the RFRA fight gave them a less favorable impression of Pence while 38 percent say it left a more favorable impression.
HRC’s poll also went on to show that when asked, “Do you believe this law and the controversy surrounding this law have been good for Indiana businesses and the local economy or bad for Indiana businesses and the local economy,” 75 percent of likely voters said the controversy was bad for business. Voters were united across party lines on this sentiment. Independent voters felt the fight was damaging by 72-12, while Republicans said by a margin of 64-13 the controversy damaged Indiana’s economy.
The poll also showed that 47 percent of voters think the state is on the “wrong track” versus 43 percent of voters who think the state is on the “right track”.
And the HRC poll also showed 70 percent of Hoosiers don’t think businesses should be allowed to discriminate based on sexual orientation, that number was 58 percent amongst Republicans.
A copy of the poll memo can be found here.
It is also worth noting that it was reported in the Cheat Sheet this past weekend that Pence was polling in the 70s amongst Republican primary voters.
The HRC poll was of 500 likely voters, conducted April 7-9 and has a margin of error of margin of error of +/- 4.38 percent.
Indy Politics interviewed Jason Rahlan, spokesperson for the HRC on the poll. You can hear his comments above in the Leon-Tailored Audio. They run seven minutes.
